tommonster3k

I just saw this film for the first time (Feb 07). I bought it for a buck on VHS. I'd never heard of it and realized the cast was a definite B-level cast at best, but I thought, what the heck? Just a buck.

I was pleasantly surprised. It's definitely no great film, but I actually enjoyed it. Sure, it's cheesy here and there, and it would've benefited from better direction. But I'd call it a hidden gem for any crime film fan to find.

An original, if bizarre, premise leads to some left-field drama and several genuinely funny moments. It's simply one of those late-night pleasures.

Blood Diamond is a powerful film. It was very difficult to watch due to the subject matter, and cried for the people of Africa not five minutes into the film. I liken the effect to that of Schindler's List, but whereas the Holocaust happened 50 years before that film, the atrocities surrounding African conflict diamonds is happening now. The most disheartening thing is that not much is being done about it.

But Blood Diamond does have heart. It has a big heart that refuses to give in to cynicism and despair. It is an "if only" film--as in, if only more things this world-changing would happen in real life--yet it is far from being idealistic. Hopefully, everyone who sees it will take it with them long after they leave the theater and will remember it the next time they find themselves eying a diamond in the jewelry store.

As for the actors, Djimon Hounsou shows again what a powerful actor he is, and Leonardo DiCaprio has never been better. He has had a great year between this and The Departed, and is becoming better at his craft every time he appears in a film. I love Jennifer Connelly, but she makes little impact here.

Edward Zwick continues to make powerful films. Glory and The Last Samurai are two of my all-time favorites, and now I add Blood Diamond to that list. It is the most important movie of the year.

I'm beginning to wonder about the validity of the star rating system here on the IMDb. I just saw "Snakes on a Plane." It was average at best, or would have been were it not for all the unpleasantness that took whatever there was to like about this movie and negated it. Except for one obviously tacked-on mile-high tryst, some other thrown in gratuitously violent snake attacks, the profanity, and Samuel L. Jackson, this was your average TV movie of the week. That, even without Jackson, would have at least been enjoyable. The death scenes that are played for laughs take any dramatic weight out of the movie when it wants to be serious. "Snakes" has its moments, but overall, it really bites. And with an 8.2/10 or whatever ludicrous score this movie got, I'm sure that bad pun hasn't been overused.